Satellite-band spectrum utilization for reduced or minimum interference

ABSTRACT

A first and/or a second communications system may provide communications service over a geographic area. A method of operating the first and/or the second communications systems may include generating a measure of aggregate interference reaching a satellite of the second communications system substantially from devices of the first communications system. The measure of aggregate interference reaching the satellite of the second communications system may be transmitted to an element of the first communications system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/200,609, filed Aug.10, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,957,694, which claims the benefit ofprovisional Application No. 60/600,575, filed Aug. 11, 2004. Thisapplication also claims the benefit of priority as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/147,048, filed Jun.7, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,603,117, which claims the benefit ofpriority as a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/225,616,filed Aug. 22, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,031,702, which claims thebenefit of provisional Application No. 60/322,240, filed Sep. 14, 2001,provisional Application Ser. No. 60/347,174, filed Jan. 9, 2002, andprovisional Application Ser. No. 60/392,754, filed Jul. 1, 2002. U.S.application Ser. No. 10/225,616 is a continuation-in-part of applicationSer. No. 10/074,097, filed Feb. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/156,363,filed May 28, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,039,400. U.S. application Ser.No. 10/156,363 claims the benefit of provisional Application No.60/347,174, filed Jan. 9, 2002, and itself is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 10/074,097, filed Feb. 12, 2002 (now U.S. Pat.No. 6,684,057), which claims the benefit of provisional Application No.60/322,240, filed Sep. 14, 2001. All of these applications are assignedto the assignee of the present application, the disclosures of all ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety asif set forth fully herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to wireless communications systems and methods,and more particularly to satellite communications systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

Satellite radioterminal communications systems and methods are widelyused for radioterminal communications. Satellite radioterminalcommunications systems and methods generally employ at least onespace-based component, such as one or more satellites that is/areconfigured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of satelliteradioterminals.

A satellite radioterminal communications system or method may utilize asingle antenna pattern (i.e., a global beam) to cover an entire areaserved by the system. Alternatively or in addition, in cellularsatellite radioterminal communications systems and methods, multipleantenna patterns (i.e., beams or cells) are provided, each of which canserve substantially distinct geographical areas in an overall serviceregion, to collectively serve an overall satellite footprint. Thus, acellular architecture similar to that used in conventional terrestrialcellular radioterminal systems and methods can be implemented incellular satellite-based systems and methods. The satellite typicallycommunicates with radioterminals over a bidirectional communicationspathway, with radioterminal communication signals being communicatedfrom the satellite to the radioterminal over a down-link, forward-linkor forward service link, and from the radioterminal to the satelliteover an up-link, return-link or return service link.

The overall design and operation of cellular satellite radioterminalsystems and methods are well known to those having skill in the art, andneed not be described further herein. Moreover, as used herein, the term“radioterminal” includes cellular and/or satellite radioterminals withor without a multi-line display; Personal Communications System (PCS)terminals that may combine a radioterminal with data processing,facsimile and/or data communications capabilities; Personal DigitalAssistants (PDA) that can include a radio frequency transceiver and/or apager, Internet and/or Intranet access, Web browser, organizer, calendarand/or a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and/or conventionallaptop and/or palmtop computers or other appliances, which include aradio frequency transceiver. As used herein, the term “radioterminal”also includes any other radiating user device/equipment/source that mayhave time-varying or fixed geographic coordinates, and may be portable,transportable, installed in a vehicle (aeronautical, maritime, orland-based), or situated and/or configured to operate locally and/or ina distributed fashion at any other location(s) on earth and/or in space.A “radioterminal” also may be referred to herein as a “radiotelephone,”“terminal,” or “wireless user device”.

As is well known to those having skill in the art, terrestrial networkscan enhance cellular satellite radioterminal system availability,efficiency and/or economic viability by terrestrially reusing at leastsome of the frequency bands that are allocated to cellular satelliteradioterminal systems. In particular, it is known that it may bedifficult for cellular satellite radioterminal systems to reliably servedensely populated areas, because the satellite signal may be blocked byhigh-rise structures and/or may not penetrate into buildings. As aresult, the satellite band spectrum may be underutilized or unutilizedin such areas. The use of terrestrial retransmission of all or some ofthe satellite band frequencies can reduce or eliminate this problem.

Moreover, the capacity of the overall system can be increasedsignificantly by the introduction of terrestrial retransmission, sinceterrestrial frequency reuse can be much denser than that of asatellite-only system. In fact, capacity can be enhanced where it may bemostly needed, i.e., in and/or proximate to densely populated urban,industrial, and/or commercial areas. As a result, the overall system canbecome much more economically viable, as it may be able to serve a muchlarger subscriber base. Finally, satellite radioterminals for asatellite radioterminal system having a terrestrial component within thesame satellite frequency band and using substantially the same airinterface for both terrestrial and satellite communications can be morecost effective and/or aesthetically appealing. Conventional dual bandand/or dual mode alternatives, such as the well known Thuraya, Iridiumand/or Globalstar dual mode satellite and/or terrestrial radiotelephonesystems, may duplicate some components, which may lead to increasedcost, size and/or weight of the radioterminal.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057 issued Jan. 27, 2004, to the present inventorKarabinis, and entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Reuse ofCellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth fullyherein, describes that a satellite radioterminal frequency can be reusedterrestrially by an ancillary terrestrial network even within the samesatellite cell, using interference cancellation techniques. Inparticular, the satellite radioterminal system according to someembodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057 includes a space-based componentthat is configured to receive wireless communications from a firstradioterminal in a satellite footprint over a satellite radioterminalfrequency band, and an ancillary terrestrial network that is configuredto receive wireless communications from a second radioterminal in thesatellite footprint over the satellite radioterminal frequency band. Thespace-based component also receives the wireless communications from thesecond radioterminal in the satellite footprint over the satelliteradioterminal frequency band as interference, along with the wirelesscommunications that are received from the first radioterminal in thesatellite footprint over the satellite radioterminal frequency band. Aninterference reducer is responsive to the space-based component and tothe ancillary terrestrial network that is configured to reduce theinterference from the wireless communications that are received by thespace-based component from the first radioterminal in the satellitefootprint over the satellite radioterminal frequency band, using thewireless communications that are received by the ancillary terrestrialnetwork from the second radioterminal in the satellite footprint overthe satellite radioterminal frequency band.

United States Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0054761 A1,published Mar. 20, 2003 to the present inventor Karabinis and entitledSpatial Guardbands for Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety as if set forth fully herein, describes satellite radioterminalsystems that include a space-based component that is configured toprovide wireless radioterminal communications in a satellite footprintover a satellite radioterminal frequency band. The satellite footprintis divided into a plurality of satellite cells, in which satelliteradioterminal frequencies of the satellite radioterminal frequency bandare spatially reused. An ancillary terrestrial network is configured toterrestrially reuse at least one of the ancillary radioterminalfrequencies that is used in a satellite cell in the satellite footprint,outside the cell and in some embodiments separated therefrom by aspatial guardband. The spatial guardband may be sufficiently large toreduce or prevent interference between the at least one of the satelliteradioterminal frequencies that is used in the satellite cell in thesatellite footprint, and the at least one of the satellite radioterminalfrequencies that is terrestrially reused outside the satellite cell andseparated therefrom by the spatial guardband. The spatial guardband maybe about half a radius of a satellite cell in width.

United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0054815 A1,published Mar. 20, 2003 to the present inventor Karabinis, and entitledMethods and Systems for Modifying Satellite Antenna Cell Patterns inResponse to Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety asif set forth fully herein, describes that space-based wirelessradioterminal communications are provided in a satellite footprint overa satellite radioterminal frequency band. The satellite footprint isdivided into satellite cells in which satellite radioterminalfrequencies of the satellite radioterminal frequency band are spatiallyreused. At least one of the satellite radioterminal frequencies that isassigned to a given satellite cell in the satellite footprint isterrestrially reused outside the given satellite cell. A radiationpattern of at least the given satellite cell is modified to reduceinterference with the at least one of the satellite radioterminalfrequencies that is terrestrially reused outside the given satellitecell.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments of the present invention, methods ofoperating a first and/or a second communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area may be provided. Moreparticularly, a measure of aggregate interference reaching a satelliteof the second communications system substantially from devices of thefirst communications system may be generated. The measure of aggregateinterference reaching the satellite of the second communications systemmay then be transmitted to an element of the first communicationssystem.

According to some other embodiments of the present invention, methods ofoperating a first and/or a second communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area may be provided. Moreparticularly, a measure of an aggregate interference reaching asatellite of the second communications system may be received at thefirst communications system. A transmission of an element of the firstcommunications system may then be altered responsive to receiving themeasure of the aggregate interference reaching the satellite of thesecond communications system.

According to still other embodiments of the present invention, methodsof operating a first and/or a second communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area may be provided. Moreparticularly, a measure of interfering signals to the secondcommunications system substantially generated by transmissions of thefirst communications system may be received at the first communicationssystem from the second communications system. An interference receivedat a satellite of the second communications system may then be reducedresponsive to the measure of interfering signals received from thesecond communications system.

According to yet other embodiments of the present invention, methods ofoperating a first and/or a second communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area may be provided. Moreparticularly, a measure of aggregate interference reaching a satelliteof the second communications system substantially from devices of thefirst communications system may be generated. In addition, interferencereceived at a satellite of the second communications system may bereduced responsive to the measure of aggregate interference reaching thesatellite of the second communications system substantially from devicesof the first communications system.

According to more embodiments of the present invention, methods ofoperating a first and/or a second communications system providingcommunications service to a plurality of radioterminals over ageographic area may be provided. Interference from the firstcommunications system received at a radioterminal of the secondcommunications system may be measured. Moreover, the measure ofinterference received at the radioterminal may be transmitted to anelement of the second communications system.

According to still more embodiments of the present invention, aradioterminal may include an antenna, a receiver coupled to the antenna,and a controller coupled to the receiver. More particularly, thereceiver may include a front-end filter configured to attenuatefrequencies outside a band of frequencies for communication with theradioterminal. In addition, the receiver may be coupled between theantenna and the controller, and the controller may be configured toprocess communications received through the antenna and receiver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating communications systems according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating bandwidth sharing betweencommunications systems according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating communications systems according toadditional embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating radioterminals according toembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific exemplary embodiments of the invention now will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, like designations refer to likeelements. It will be understood that when an element is referred to asbeing “connected”, “coupled” or “responsive” to another element, it canbe directly connected, coupled or responsive to the other element orintervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected”, “coupled”or “responsive” as used herein may include wirelessly connected, coupledor responsive.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. Itwill be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,”“including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thepresent disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

It will be understood that although the terms first and second may beused herein to describe various elements, these elements should not belimited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, a first radiotelephone below couldbe termed a second radiotelephone, and similarly, a secondradiotelephone may be termed a first radiotelephone without departingfrom the teachings of the present invention. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. The symbol “/” is also used as a shorthandnotation for “and/or”.

Moreover, as used herein, “substantially the same” band(s) means thattwo or more bands being compared substantially overlap in frequency, butthat there may be some areas of non-overlap, for example at a bandend(s). “Substantially the same” air interface(s) means that two or moreair interfaces being compared are similar but need not be identical.Some differences may exist in one air interface (i.e., a satellite airinterface) relative to another (i.e., a terrestrial air interface) toaccount for and/or accommodate different characteristics that may existbetween, for example, a terrestrial and satellite communicationsenvironments. For example, a different vocoder rate may be used forsatellite communications compared to the vocoder rate that may be usedfor terrestrial communications (i.e., for terrestrial communications,voice may be compressed (“vocoded”) to approximately 9 to 13 kbps,whereas for satellite communications a vocoder rate of 2 to 4 kbps, forexample, may be used); a different forward error correction coding,different interleaving depth, and/or different spread-spectrum codes mayalso be used, for example, for satellite communications compared to thecoding, interleaving depth, and/or spread spectrum codes (i.e., Walshcodes, long codes, and/or frequency hopping codes) that may be used forterrestrial communications.

Terrestrial reuse of satellite band frequencies, by radioterminalsand/or terrestrial infrastructure components (also referred to as basestations, ancillary terrestrial components or ATCs, and/or ancillaryterrestrial networks or ATNs), may subject a satellite system to up-linkand/or down-link interference. Interference into a satellite and/orsatellite gateway receiver, referred to as up-link interference (alsoreferred to as return-link interference), may be generated, in part, bytransmissions of radioterminals that are communicating with at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component (base station) using at least somefrequencies of a satellite up-link band and/or by transmissions of basestations that may also be using at least some of the satellite up-linkband frequencies to communicate with radioterminals. A terrestrialinfrastructure component (base station) may also be using at least someof the satellite up-link (return link) band frequencies to communicatewith radioterminals as discussed, for example in U.S. Pat. No.6,684,057, to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for TerrestrialReuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum. The disclosure of U.S.Pat. No. 6,684,057 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety as if set forth fully herein. Interference into satelliteradioterminal receivers, referred to as down-link interference (alsoreferred to as forward-link interference), may occur from transmissionsof base stations and/or radioterminals that are radiating at least somefrequencies of a satellite down-link band. A radioterminal may also beusing at least some of the satellite down-link (forward-link) bandfrequencies to communicate with at least one terrestrial infrastructurecomponent (base station) as discussed, for example, in U.S.Continuation-in-Part patent application Ser. No. 10/730,660, toKarabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Reuse ofCellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum in a Time-Division Duplex Mode,filed Dec. 8, 2003 and assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention. The disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/730,660is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if setforth fully herein. According to embodiments of the present invention,systems and methods may be used by a first and/or a second systemoperator, who may be concurrently operating a first and second system,respectively, to reduce or eliminate up-link and/or down-linkinterference therebetween. Moreover, each system may include aspace-based and/or a ground-based sub-system, and each system may useone or more blocks of frequencies, of a given band of frequencies (suchas an L-band of frequencies, S-band of frequencies and/or any other bandof frequencies), over overlapping and/or separate geographic regions toprovide services via the space-based and/or ground-based sub-system.

Some embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinrelative to the terms “first” and “second” systems. For convenience andfor illustrative purposes the first system, and/or components thereof,may also be referred to as “MSV” and may, in some embodiments,correspond to a system provided by Mobile Satellite Ventures, LP (theassignee of the present invention). The second system and/or componentsthereof may be referred to as “non-MSV” or “Inmarsat.” However, it willbe understood that the invention is not limited to applicationsinvolving combinations of MSV and non-MSV or Inmarsat systems, and thatany first and second system may be encompassed by the designations MSVand non-MSV or Inmarsat. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “measure”of a given signal (real-valued, complex-valued, scalar, vector, matrix,and/or of any other characteristic or dimension), and/or of any otherphysical or imaginary entity, includes any entity, observable and/orimaginary, that is related to, and/or derived from (via natural orman-induced processes) from the given signal (real-valued,complex-valued, scalar, vector, matrix, and/or of any othercharacteristic or dimension), and/or the other physical or imaginaryentity. It will also be understood that even though some embodiments ofthe present invention may be described in terms of L-band systems andspectrum, the invention may be applied to any other (such as non-L-band)system and/or spectrum.

According to embodiments of the present invention, monitoring andcontrol of up-link interference may be provided. Referring to FIG. 1, awireless communications system may utilize L-band spectrum, and at leastsome of the down-link band frequencies of an L-band (i.e., from 1525 MHzto 1559 MHz) may be used by a first satellite 101 that may be operatedby a first satellite operator (i.e., Mobile satellite Ventures, LP“MSV”) to transmit information to at least one satellite radioterminalin the geographic region 111 of the first satellite 101. The at leastsome of the down-link band frequencies of the L-band (or a subsetthereof) may also be used by a terrestrial infrastructure component,such as a base station, ATC, ATN, and/or a sub-system thereof, totransmit information to at least one radioterminal. The at least oneradioterminal may be a stand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal or anintegrated radioterminal that may comprise at least some of thefunctionality of a stand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal and atleast some of the functionality of a satellite radioterminal. Theterrestrial infrastructure component may be part of an overallinfrastructure of an Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) and part ofan overall Ancillary Terrestrial Network (ATN) comprising a plurality ofATCs. As used herein, the term Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) mayalso be referred to as a base station, and a plurality of ATCs may beincluded in an ATN.

ATCs are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057 toKarabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Reuse ofCellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum; and Published U.S. PatentApplication Nos. US 2003/0054760 to Karabinis, entitled Systems andMethods for Terrestrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum;US 2003/0054761 to Karabinis, entitled Spatial Guardbands forTerrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies; US 2003/0054814 to Karabiniset al., entitled Systems and Methods for Monitoring Terrestrially ReusedSatellite Frequencies to Reduce Potential Interference; US 2003/0054762to Karabinis, entitled Multi-Band/Multi-Mode Satellite RadiotelephoneCommunications Systems and Methods; US 2003/0153267 to Karabinis,entitled Wireless Communications Systems and Methods UsingSatellite-Linked Remote Terminal Interface Subsystems; US 2003/0224785to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for Reducing Satellite FeederLink Bandwidth/Carriers In Cellular Satellite Systems; US 2002/0041575to Karabinis et al., entitled Coordinated Satellite-TerrestrialFrequency Reuse; US 2002/0090942 to Karabinis et al., entitledIntegrated or Autonomous System and Method of Satellite-TerrestrialFrequency Reuse Using Signal Attenuation and/or Blockage, DynamicAssignment of Frequencies and/or Hysteresis; US 2003/0068978 toKarabinis et al., entitled Space-Based Network Architectures forSatellite Radiotelephone Systems; US 2003/0143949 to Karabinis, entitledFilters for Combined Radiotelephone/GPS Terminals; US 2003/0153308 toKarabinis, entitled Staggered Sectorization for Terrestrial Reuse ofSatellite Frequencies; and US 2003/0054815 to Karabinis, entitledMethods and Systems for Modifying Satellite Antenna Cell Patterns InResponse to Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies, all of which areassigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosures ofall of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety as if set forth fully herein.

Continuing with system embodiments utilizing L-band spectrum, at leastsome of the up-link band frequencies of an L-band (for example, from1626.5 MHz to 1660.5 MHz) may be used by at least one satelliteradioterminal to transmit information to the first satellite 101. The atleast some of the up-link band frequencies of the L-band (or a subsetthereof) may also be used by the satellite radioterminal and/or by atleast one other radioterminal to transmit information to at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component that may be part of an overallinfrastructure of an Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) and part ofan overall Ancillary Terrestrial Network (ATN) comprising a plurality ofATCs. The satellite radioterminal may be a stand-alone satellite-onlyradioterminal or it may comprise at least some of the functionality of astand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal and at least some of thefunctionality of a satellite radioterminal. The at least one otherradioterminal may be a stand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal or anintegrated radioterminal that may comprise at least some of thefunctionality of a stand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal and atleast some of the functionality of a satellite radioterminal.

Continuing with system embodiments utilizing L-band spectrum, a secondsatellite 102 that may be operated by a second satellite operator (i.e.,Inmarsat) and/or the radioterminal(s) thereof may be using at least someof the L-band frequencies that are also used by the first satellite 101and/or the radioterminals thereof to communicate. Specifically, at leastsome of the up-link band frequencies used by the satelliteradioterminals communicating with the second satellite 102 may also befrequencies that are used by at least one radio terminal communicatingwith the first satellite 101 and/or the at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component. As such, the second satellite 102 may receivea level of interference from the emissions of the at least oneradioterminal communicating with the first satellite 101 and/or the atleast one terrestrial infrastructure component.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the second satellite102, which may be an Inmarsat 4 satellite, may form at least one beam(satellite cell) over a geographic region spanning an ensemble ofradioterminal emissions that are intended for the first satellite 101and/or the at least one terrestrial infrastructure component. Referringto FIG. 1, a geographic region 111 labeled “Geographic Region ofSatellite Coverage (MSV System)” is shown. Within this geographic region111, the First Satellite 101 (MSV Satellite) is providing communicationsservices to satellite radioterminals. Included in the Geographic Region111 of Satellite Coverage (MSV System) is a geographic region 112labeled “Geographic Region of Satellite & ATC Coverage (MSV System).”Within this geographic region 112, communications services may beprovided to radioterminals by the First Satellite 101 (MSV Satellite)and/or by infrastructure components (base stations) that may reuse atleast some of the satellite band frequencies.

The at least one beam 115 (satellite cell) that may be formed by theSecond Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) substantially over theGeographic Region of Satellite & ATC Coverage (MSV System), asillustrated in FIG. 1, may be configured to detect and/or estimate ameasure of aggregate interference reaching the Second Satellite 102(Inmarsat Satellite) from radioterminal and/or infrastructure componentemissions originating from substantially within the Geographic Region ofSatellite & ATC Coverage (MSV System) and are intended for the FirstSatellite 101 (MSV Satellite) and/or the at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component. Techniques for detecting and/or estimatingaggregate interference may be found, for example, in Published U.S.Patent Application Nos. US 2003/0054814 to Karabinis et al., entitledSystems and Methods for Monitoring Terrestrially Reused SatelliteFrequencies to Reduce Potential Interference, and US 2003/0073436 toKarabinis et al., entitled Additional Systems and Methods for MonitoringTerrestrially Reused Satellite Frequencies to Reduce PotentialInterference; both of which are assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entirety as if set forth fully herein. The SecondSatellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) and/or other system element(s)associated with the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite), such as asatellite gateway, may be configured to further process the detectedand/or estimated measure of aggregate interference reaching the SecondSatellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) and relay a measure of the furtherprocessed detected and/or estimated measure of aggregate interferencereaching the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) and/or thedetected and/or estimated measure of aggregate interference reaching theSecond Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) to a system element associatedwith the First Satellite 101 (MSV Satellite) and/or the at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component, ATC, or ATN associated with theFirst Satellite 101 (MSV Satellite). Responsive to the received measureof the further processed detected and/or estimated measure of aggregateinterference reaching the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite)and/or the detected and/or estimated measure of aggregate interferencereaching the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) havingapproached, equaled, or exceeded a predetermined threshold, the at leastone terrestrial infrastructure component, ATC, ATN, and/or at least oneradioterminal that is substantially within the Geographic Region ofSatellite & ATC Coverage (MSV System) and is associated with the FirstSatellite 101 (MSV Satellite) may be configured to reduce a level oftransmitted radiation.

The at least one beam 115 (satellite cell) that may be formed by theSecond Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) substantially over theGeographic Region of Satellite & ATC Coverage (MSV System), asillustrated in FIG. 1, may be a receive-only beam. The receive-only beammay provide to the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite) and/orother system element(s) associated with the Second Satellite 102(Inmarsat Satellite), such as a satellite gateway, a measure of anaggregate signal power that is reaching the Second Satellite 102(Inmarsat Satellite), representative of at least one emission occurringsubstantially within the Geographic Region of Satellite & ATC Coverage(MSV System), as illustrated in FIG. 1, over a band of frequencies thatis used by at least one radioterminal and/or the at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component.

In some embodiments, the Second Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite), asatellite gateway(s) associate with the second satellite 102, and/orother system component(s) thereof may be equipped with an interferencereducer to reduce interference in signals that are intended for theSecond Satellite 102 (Inmarsat Satellite), caused by MSV Systememissions (occurring from within any geographic region of satelliteand/or ATC MSV system coverage). Interference reducers are known tothose of skill in the art and need not be discussed further herein.Embodiments of interference reducers for reducing interference insatellite systems are disclosed for example, in the previouslyreferenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057, to Karabinis, entitled Systems andMethods for Terrestrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum,published Jan. 27, 2004; in Utility patent application Ser. No.10/890,758, to Karabinis et al, entitled Intra- and/or Inter-SystemInterference Reducing Systems and Methods for Satellite CommunicationsSystems, filed Jul. 14, 2004; and in Provisional Patent Application No.60/573,991 to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for MonitoringSelected Terrestrially Reused Satellite Frequency Signals to ReducePotential Interference, filed May 24, 2004; all of which are assigned tothe assignee of the present invention, the disclosures of all of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if setforth fully herein.

It will be understood by those having skill in the art that somemodifications may be applied to the interference reducer embodimentsthat are disclosed in the immediately above referenced patent, patentapplication, and provisional patent application when applying aninterference reducer embodiment (of the patent, patent application,and/or provisional patent application) to reducing interference of asignal intended for an Inmarsat satellite. For example, whereas in theembodiments disclosed in the above referenced patent, patentapplication, and provisional patent application, the interferencereducer may be configured to operate on a desired signal that isintended for an MSV satellite (“Signal of satellite cell S” in FIG. 3 ofthe above referenced patent application; signal “f_(U)” of the“Satellite Radiotelephone Link” in FIG. 1 of the above referencedpatent), the interference reducer, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, may be configured to operate on a desired signal thatis intended for an Inmarsat satellite. Furthermore, whereas in theembodiments disclosed in the above referenced patent, patentapplication, and provisional patent application, the interferencereducer may be configured to operate at an MSV system location (such asat an MSV satellite gateway and/or other MSV facility), the interferencereducer, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention,may be configured to operate at an Inmarsat system location (such as atan Inmarsat satellite gateway and/or other Inmarsat facility). Inaddition to the above, at least some of the signals “T, U, V, W, X, Y,A3, A5, A7, B4, B6, B7” that are shown in FIG. 3 of the above referencedpatent application and/or the signal “142” shown in FIG. 1 of the abovereferenced patent, may be transported to an Inmarsat system location tobe used as inputs to the interference reducer. In some embodiments, theinterference signal input(s) “T, U, V, W, X, Y, A3, A5, A7, B4, B6, B7”that are shown in FIG. 3 of the above referenced patent applicationand/or the signal “142” shown in FIG. 1 of the above referenced patent,and/or a desired signal plus interference (that may be provided to anInmarsat system location by an Inmarsat satellite) may bedelay-equalized to substantially align in time the interfering signalpath(s) provided via the MSV satellite relative to the interferencesignal path(s) provided via the Inmarsat satellite. In some embodiments,the satellite 102 of the Inmarsat satellite system may form spot beams(that may be receive-only spot beams) over ATC areas of the MSV systemand may thus provide to the interference reducer measures of theinterfering signals. In some embodiments, measures of the interferingsignals are provided by an MSV satellite and an Inmarsat satellite. Inother embodiments, a desired signal plus interference that may beprovided to an Inmarsat system facility (such as an Inmarsat satellitegateway), by an Inmarsat satellite, may be transported to a MSV systemfacility (such as an MSV satellite gateway) and the interference reducermay be configured to be functionally operative at the MSV systemfacility to reduce interference of a signal that is intended for anInmarsat satellite.

In addition, or in alternatives, monitoring and control of down-linkinterference may be provided according to embodiments of the presentinvention. In accordance with system embodiments addressed earlier,utilizing L-band spectrum, portions of the down-link band frequencies ofan L-band (for example, from 1525 MHz to 1559 MHz) may be used by afirst system and a satellite (for example, satellite 101) thereof thatmay be operated by a first satellite operator (i.e., Mobile satelliteVentures, LP “MSV”) to transmit information to at least one satelliteradioterminal. The portions of the down-link band frequencies of theL-band (or a subset thereof) may also be used by at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component (i.e., an ATC) that may be operatedby and/or associated with the first system and the satellite thereof(MSV system), to transmit information to at least one radioterminal. Aradioterminal of a second system (such as a satellite radioterminal ofan Inmarsat system including satellite 102) may be operative whileproximate to a terrestrial infrastructure component of the first systemthat is radiating at least some frequencies of the portions of thedown-link band frequencies of the L-band (or a subset thereof) tocommunicate with at least one radioterminal. As such, the radioterminalof the second system may experience interference, such as overloadinterference and/or inter-modulation interference.

In some embodiments, a radioterminal may be operatively configured withsignaling capability, such as, for example, in-band signalingcapability, so as to inform a system, and/or a component thereof, suchas a satellite gateway and/or other component of the system, of a BitError Rate (BER) measure at the radioterminal. In response to the BERmeasure received by the system, the system (i.e., a satellite and/or asatellite gateway) may provide a different amount of power to theradioterminal (such as more power to the radioterminal if the BERmeasure is, for example, greater than a first predetermined threshold,or less power to the radioterminal if the BER measure is, for example,smaller than a second predetermined threshold; where the first andsecond predetermined thresholds may be the same or different) relativeto the power delivered to the radioterminal by the system prior to thereception by the system of the BER measure transmitted by theradioterminal via a signaling channel.

In other embodiments, in response to the BER measure received by thesystem from the radioterminal, and following a predetermined increase inpower level to the radioterminal for the purpose of establishing a BERmeasure that may be within an acceptable range, the system may commandthe radioterminal to utilize a different down-link (forward-link)carrier and/or channel, if the radioterminal continues to report to thesystem a BER measure that is not within the predetermined range and isinferior to the system's Quality of Service (QoS) standard for theservice being provided by the radioterminal. The different down-link(forward-link) carrier may be chosen from an available pool of carriers,and/or the different down-link (forward-link) carrier may be chosen at amaximum or near maximum frequency distance relative to a frequency orfrequencies used by the at least one terrestrial infrastructurecomponent, ATC, and/or ATN of the first system.

In yet other embodiments, in response to the BER measure received by thesystem from the radioterminal, the system may command the radioterminalto utilize a different down-link (forward-link) carrier and/or channelwithout first attempting to provide more power to the radioterminal. Insome embodiments, the system may process at least two BER measures (asequence of BER measures) before sending more power to the radioterminaland/or commanding the radioterminal to utilize a different down-link(forward-link) carrier. In some embodiments, one or more down-link(forward-link) signaling carriers/channels may be provided by a system(i.e., Inmarsat) at a frequency separation that is maximally-distant, ornear maximally-distant, from a down-link (forward-link) band offrequencies used by another system (i.e., MSV).

In additional embodiments of the present invention, to further reducethe potential of down-link interference, two systems (for example, afirst system including satellite 101 and a second system includingsatellite 102) that are using a band of frequencies, such as an L-bandof frequencies, may partition the band of frequencies into relativelylarge and contiguous blocks of spectrum, as illustrated in FIG. 2, anduse the blocks of spectrum in accordance with a minimum or substantiallyminimum interference potential criterion. As illustrated in FIG. 2, afirst relatively large contiguous block of down-link frequencies 201(labeled “MSV ATC and/or Satellite Operations,” which may be, forexample, approximately 10 MHz in bandwidth) may be used by MSV to offersatellite and ATC service(s). Still referring to FIG. 2, a second blockof frequencies 203 (labeled “INMARSAT Operations”) may be, for example,approximately 17 MHz in bandwidth. The second block of frequencies 203labeled “INMARSAT Operations” may be used by Inmarsat to offer satelliteservices with, for example, a first sub-block of frequencies 203 a (thatmay be closest in frequency to the first block of frequencies 201 usedby MSV for satellite and/or ATC operations) allocated, for example, byInmarsat to maritime and/or land-mobile operations; followed by, forexample, a second sub-block of frequencies 203 b that may be allocatedby Inmarsat to aeronautical operations; and followed by, for example, athird sub-block of frequencies 203 c that may be allocated by Inmarsatto land-mobile and/or aeronautical operations. Following the INMARSATOperations block (i.e., the second block of frequencies 203), asillustrated in FIG. 2, a third block of frequencies 205 (labeled “MSVSatellite Operations,” which may be, for example, approximately 7 MHz inbandwidth) may be used by MSV for satellite services only. In someembodiments, at least a portion of the third block of frequencies 205may also be used by MSV to provide ATC communications.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment relating to L-bandspectrum usage by two system operators (as depicted in FIG. 2 anddescribed immediately above), at least some of the land-mobileoperations of Inmarsat comprising land-mobile radioterminals that may bemost susceptible to down-link interference, comprising, for example, aclass of radioterminals configured for high-speed data mode(s) (such asInmarsat radioterminals of type/class GAN, R-BGAN, and/or BGAN), may beallocated down-link carrier frequencies in the third Inmarsat sub-block203 c and/or at a maximum or near maximum frequency distance away fromMSV's ATC operations. At least some aeronautical operations of Inmarsatmay also be conducted over the third Inmarsat sub-block 203 c and/or ata maximum, or near maximum, frequency separation from MSV's ATCoperations. Owing to the mobility aspects of some land-mobileradioterminals (and/or some non-land-mobile radioterminals), at leastsome radioterminals communicating with satellite 102 may be operative,from time-to-time, from locations proximate to base station/ATCemissions generated by the communications system including satellite101. The at least some radioterminals that may be operative proximate tosuch locations may include at least one radioterminal that may berelatively more susceptible to down-link interference than otherradioterminals. (A radioterminal providing a high-speed data service,for example, may be more susceptible to down-link interference than aradioterminal providing, for example, a voice service and/or low-speeddata service.) The at least one radioterminal that may be relativelymore susceptible to down-link interference than the other radioterminalsmay be allocated a down-link carrier frequency in the third Inmarsatsub-block and/or at a maximum or near maximum frequency distance awayfrom MSV's ATC operations. This may be accomplished a priori by thesystem, during a call set-up procedure between the radioterminal and thesystem, prior to establishing an initial communications channel, viarecognition by the system of a radioterminal profile/identity/service,or it may be accomplished a posteriori, after an initial communicationschannel has been established and a measure of unacceptable performancehas been provided to the system by the radioterminal, as describedearlier.

In further embodiments of the invention, an operator (Inmarsat) of asystem including the satellite 102 may deploy at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN in parts of, all, orsubstantially all of the geographic area that an operator (MSV) of asystem including the satellite 101 plans to, and/or has deployed, atleast one terrestrial infrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN. Havingdone so, the second system operator (Inmarsat) may also configure atleast some of the radioterminals that are capable of communicating withthe satellite 102 of the second system to also be capable ofcommunicating with the at least one terrestrial infrastructurecomponent, ATC, and/or ATN of the second and/or first system, and/or aterrestrial infrastructure of any other system. As such, a radioterminalof the second system (that may be operative proximate to at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN of the firstsystem, and may thus be subjected to down-link interference) mayestablish a communications link with the at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN of the second and/or firstsystem, and/or the terrestrial infrastructure of the any other system(instead of communicating via a satellite) to minimize, or eliminate thepotential of down-link and/or up-link interference.

In other embodiments of the invention, in order to further reduce oreliminate the potential of down-link interference, two systems that areusing a band of frequencies, such as an L-band of frequencies, and mayhave partitioned the band of frequencies into relatively large andcontiguous blocks of spectrum, as illustrated in FIG. 2, may incorporatefiltering, such as band-pass, low-pass, high-pass, notch filteringand/or any other type of filtering, into at least some radioterminals toreduce further or eliminate the potential of interference. At least someradioterminals configured to communicate with the satellite 102 of thesecond system (Inmarsat system) may, for example, be configured with areceiver filter that attenuates at least some frequencies of the “MSVATC and/or Satellite Operations” frequency block 201 more thanfrequencies of the “INMARSAT Operations” block 203. The filter may be afront-end filter (operatively configured at the Radio Frequency (RF)section of the radioterminal receiver; before and/or after the receiverLow Noise Amplifier (LNA)), or the filter may be operatively distributedbetween the RF, Intermediate Frequency (IF), and/or base-band sectionsof the radioterminal receiver. A filter characteristic, such as anattenuation response of the filter, may be operationally responsive to ageographic location of the radioterminal. For example, if theradioterminal is operative in North America (or proximate to NorthAmerica) the filter attenuation response may be configured to attenuateat least some of the frequencies occupying the “MSV ATC and/or SatelliteOperations” frequency block and/or any other MSV frequency block;otherwise, the filter may be switched out and/or by-passed, or may bealtered in at least one characteristic. In some embodiments, at power-onof a radioterminal the radioterminal may be configured to function withthe filter by-passed (or switched out), totally or partially. In otherembodiments, radioterminals of a first system (MSV) may also beconfigured with a band-pass, low-pass, high-pass, notch and/or any othertype of receiver-chain filter characteristic (distributed or lumped)that attenuates frequencies that lie outside of one or more MSVfrequency blocks.

According to embodiments of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, afirst wireless communications system may include a satellite 301, anancillary terrestrial network (ATN) including a plurality of ancillaryterrestrial components (ATCs) 321 a-c (also referred to as basestations), a satellite gateway 323, and a communications systemcontroller 327. The satellite 301 may provide communications servicesover a relatively large geographic region 311, and the ATN (includingATCs 321 a-c) may provide communications services over a smallergeographic region 312. Accordingly, each of the radioterminals 325 a-cof the first wireless communications system may be configured toestablish communication links with the satellite 301 and/or with an ATC321 a-c. As shown in FIG. 3, the radioterminal 325 a outside thegeographic region 312 may establish a communications link with thesatellite 301 while the radioterminals 325 b-c inside the geographicregion 312 may establish communications with one or more ATCs 321 a-c.Moreover, a system controller 327 may coordinate operations of the firstcommunications system. While a single contiguous geographic region 312for ATC communications (using ATCs 321 a-c) is shown inside the largergeographic region 311 for satellite communications (using satellite301), a plurality of separate geographic regions may be provided for ATCcommunications, and/or a geographic region for ATC communications orportions thereof may be outside the geographic region 311 for satellitecommunications. Moreover, an aggregate geographic region of ATN/ATCcoverage may be less than, the same as, or larger than an aggregategeographic region of satellite coverage.

If the radioterminal 325 a moves to the geographic region 312, theradioterminal 325 a may establish a communications link with one or moreof the ATCs 321 a-c. If either of the radioterminals 325 b-c is movedoutside the geographic region 312, the moved radioterminal(s) 325 band/or 325 c may establish a communications link with the satellite 301.While radioterminals 325 b-c may establish communications links with thesatellite 301 while in the geographic region 312, communications linkswith ATCs may be preferred to increase system capacity and/or quality ofservice.

In addition, a second wireless communications system may include asatellite 302, a satellite gateway 333, and an interference reducer 337.The satellite 302 may provide communications services for radioterminals335 a-c. Moreover, the interference reducer may reduce up-linkinterference received at the satellite 302 resulting from transmissionsof ATCs 321 a-c, radioterminals 325 a-c, and/or satellite 301 of thefirst communications system. In addition, the first and secondcommunications systems of FIG. 3 may be operated by different systemoperators. While the interference reducer 337 is shown as a separatefunctional block, functionality of the interference reducer 337 and/orportions thereof may be implemented at the satellite 302, at thesatellite gateway 333, at the controller 327 of the first communicationssystem, at the satellite 301 of the first communications system, at thesatellite gateway 323 of the first communications system, and/or at anATC 321 a-c of the first communications system. The interference reducer337, for example, may be provided as a portion of a controller of thecommunications system including the satellite 302 and the satellitegateway 333.

Monitoring and control of up-link interference may thus be provided forthe second communications system wherein the first and secondcommunications systems use similar frequencies. More particularly, thefirst satellite 301 may use L-band spectrum, and at least some of thedown-link band frequencies of an L-band (e.g. from 1525 MHz to 1559 MHz)may be used by a first satellite 301 that may be operated by a firstsatellite operator (e.g., Mobile satellite Ventures, LP “MSV”) totransmit information to at least one satellite radioterminal (such asone or more of radioterminals 325 a-c) in the geographic region 311 ofthe first satellite 301. The at least some of the down-link bandfrequencies of the L-band (or a subset thereof) may also be used by oneor more of the ATCs 321 a-c to transmit information to at least one ofthe radioterminals 325 a-c in the geographic region 312 of the ATN. Eachof the radioterminals 325 a-c may be a stand-alone terrestrial-onlyradioterminal or an integrated radioterminal that may comprise at leastsome of the functionality of a stand-alone terrestrial-onlyradioterminal and at least some of the functionality of a satelliteradioterminal.

Continuing with system embodiments using L-band spectrum, at least someof the up-link band frequencies of an L-band (for example, from 1626.5MHz to 1660.5 MHz) may be used by one or more of the radioterminals 325a-c to transmit information to the first satellite 301. The at leastsome of the up-link band frequencies of the L-band (or a subset thereof)may also be used by the radioterminals 325 a-c to transmit informationto at least one of the ATCs 321 a-c that may be part of an overallAncillary Terrestrial Network (ATN) including a larger number of ATCs.One of the radioterminals 321 a-c may be a stand-alone satellite-onlyradioterminal or it may comprise at least some of the functionality of astand-alone terrestrial-only radioterminal and at least some of thefunctionality of a satellite radioterminal. Another of theradioterminals 325 a-c may be a stand-alone terrestrial-onlyradioterminal or an integrated radioterminal that may comprise at leastsome of the functionality of a stand-alone terrestrial-onlyradioterminal and at least some of the functionality of a satelliteradioterminal.

Continuing with system embodiments utilizing L-band spectrum, the secondsatellite 302 that may be operated by the second satellite operator(e.g., Inmarsat) and/or the radioterminal(s) 335 a-c thereof may beusing at least some of the L-band frequencies that are also used by thefirst satellite 301 and/or the radioterminals 325 a-c thereof tocommunicate. Specifically, at least some of the up-link band frequenciesused by the radioterminals 335 a-c communicating with the secondsatellite 302 may also be frequencies that are used by at least one ofthe radioterminals 325 a-c communicating with the first satellite 301and/or with at least one of the ATCs 321 a-c. The second satellite 302may thus receive up-link interference from emissions/transmissions of atleast one of the radioterminals 325 a-c communicating with the firstsatellite 301 and/or at least one of the ATCs 321 a-c. In someembodiments, at least one of the ATCs 321 a-c may also be using at leastsome of the up-link frequencies used by the radioterminals 335 a-ccommunicating with the second satellite 302 to communicate with at leastone of the radioterminals 325 a-c. The second satellite 302 may thusalso receive up-link interference from emissions/transmissions of atleast one of the ATCs 321 a-c.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the second satellite302 (which may be an Inmarsat 4 satellite) may form at least one beam315 (satellite cell or antenna pattern) over a geographic regionspanning an ensemble of radioterminal and/or ATC emissions that areintended for the first satellite 301, the ATCs 321 a-c and/or theradioterminals 325 a-c. Within the geographic region 311, the firstsatellite 301 (MSV Satellite) may provide communications services tosatellite radioterminals of the first communications system (such asradioterminals 325 a-c). As shown, the geographic region 312 may beincluded in the geographic region 311. Within the geographic region 312,communications services may be provided to one or more of radioterminals325 a-c by the first satellite 301 (MSV Satellite) and/or by the ATCs321 a-c that may reuse at least some of the satellite band frequencies.

The at least one beam 315 (satellite cell or antenna pattern) may beformed by the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 substantially overthe geographic region 312 over which the ATCs 321 a-c operate, as shownin FIG. 3. Moreover, the beam 315 may be configured to detect and/orestimate a measure of aggregate interference reaching the second (e.g.,Inmarsat) satellite 302 from radioterminal and/or ATC emissionsoriginating from substantially within the Geographic Region 312 that areintended for radioterminals 325 a-c, ATCs 321 a-c and/or satellite 301of the first communications system including satellite 301 and/or theATN including ATCs 321 a-c. Techniques for detecting and/or estimatingaggregate interference may be found, for example, in Published U.S.Patent Application Nos. US 2003/0054814 to Karabinis et al., entitledSystems and Methods for Monitoring Terrestrially Reused SatelliteFrequencies to Reduce Potential Interference, and US 2003/0073436 toKarabinis et al., entitled Additional Systems and Methods for MonitoringTerrestrially Reused Satellite Frequencies to Reduce PotentialInterference; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entirety as if set forth fully herein. The second(e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 and/or other system element(s) associatedwith the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302, such as the satellitegateway 333, and/or the interference reducer 337, may be configured tofurther process the detected and/or estimated measure of aggregateinterference reaching the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 andrelay a measure of the further processed detected and/or estimatedmeasure of aggregate interference reaching the second (e.g., Inmarsat)satellite 302 and/or the detected and/or estimated measure of aggregateinterference reaching the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 to asystem element (such as the controller 327) associated with the first(e.g., MSV) satellite 301 and/or at least one terrestrial infrastructurecomponent, ATC, or ATN associated with the first (e.g., MSV) satellite301. Responsive to the received measure of the further processeddetected and/or estimated measure of aggregate interference reaching thesecond (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 and/or the detected and/orestimated measure of aggregate interference reaching the second (e.g.,Inmarsat) satellite 302 having approached, equaled, or exceeded apredetermined threshold, the at least one terrestrial infrastructurecomponent, ATC, ATN, and/or at least one radioterminal that issubstantially within the Geographic Region 312 of Satellite & ATCCoverage (of the first communications system including satellite 301 andATCs 321 a-c) and is associated with the first satellite 301 may beconfigured to reduce a level of transmitted radiation.

The at least one beam 315 (satellite cell or antenna pattern) that maybe formed by the Second Satellite 302 substantially over the GeographicRegion 312 of Satellite & ATC Coverage, as illustrated in FIG. 3, may bea receive-only beam. The receive-only beam may provide to the second(e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 and/or other system element(s) associatedwith the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302, such as a satellitegateway 333, and/or the interference reducer 337, a measure of anaggregate signal power that is reaching the second (e.g., Inmarsat)satellite 302, representative of at least one emission occurringsubstantially within the Geographic Region 312 of Satellite & ATCCoverage (e.g., MSV System), as illustrated in FIG. 3, over a band offrequencies that is used by at least one radioterminal and/or at leastone terrestrial infrastructure component (such as one or more of ATCs321 a-c).

In some embodiments, the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302, asatellite gateway(s) 333 associate with the second satellite 302, and/orother system component(s) thereof may be equipped with an interferencereducer 337 to reduce interference in signals that are intended for thesecond (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302, caused by emissions from thefirst communications system from one or more of radioterminals 325 a-cand/or ATCs 321 a-c (occurring from within any geographic region ofsatellite 301 and/or ATC system coverage of the first communicationssystem associated with the first satellite 301). Interference reducersare known to those of skill in the art and need not be discussed furtherherein. Embodiments of interference reducers for reducing interferencein satellite systems are disclosed for example, in the previouslyreferenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057, to Karabinis, entitled Systems andMethods for Terrestrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum,published Jan. 27, 2004; in Utility patent application Ser. No.10/890,758, to Karabinis et al., entitled Intra- and/or Inter-SystemInterference Reducing Systems and Methods for Satellite CommunicationsSystems, filed Jul. 14, 2004; in Provisional Patent Application No.60/573,991, to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for MonitoringSelected Terrestrially Reused Satellite Frequency Signals to ReducePotential Interference, filed May 24, 2004; and in Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 11/133,102 to Karabinis entitled Systems andMethods for Monitoring Selected Terrestrially Reused Satellite FrequencySignals to Reduce Potential Interference, filed May 19, 2005. Thedisclosures of all of these patents and patent applications are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set forth fullyherein.

It will be understood by those having skill in the art that somemodifications may be applied to the interference reducer embodimentsthat are disclosed in the immediately above referenced patent, patentapplications, and Provisional Patent application when applying aninterference reducer embodiment (of the patent, patent applications,and/or provisional patent application) to reducing interference of asignal intended for the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302. Forexample, whereas in embodiments disclosed in the above referencedpatent, patent applications, and provisional patent application, theinterference reducer may be configured to operate on a desired signalthat is intended for the first (e.g., MSV) satellite 301 (“Signal ofsatellite cell S” in FIG. 3 of the above referenced patent applicationSer. No. 10/890,758; signal “f_(U)” of the “Satellite RadiotelephoneLink” in FIG. 1 of the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057), theinterference reducer 337, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, may be configured to operate on a desired signal that isintended for the second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302. Furthermore,whereas in the embodiments disclosed in the above referenced patent,patent applications, and provisional patent application, theinterference reducer may be configured to operate at an MSV systemlocation (such as at an MSV satellite gateway and/or other MSVfacility), the interference reducer 337, in accordance with theembodiments of the present invention, may be configured to operate at anInmarsat system location (such as at an Inmarsat satellite gatewayand/or other Inmarsat facility). In addition to the above, at least someof the signals “T, U, V, W, X, Y, A3, A5, A7, B4, B6, B7” that are shownin FIG. 3 of the above referenced patent application Ser. No. 10/890,758and/or the signal “142” shown in FIG. 1 of the above referenced U.S.Pat. No. 6,684,057, may be transported to an Inmarsat system location tobe used as inputs to the interference reducer 337. In some embodiments,the interference signal input(s) “T, U, V, W, X, Y, A3, A5, A7, B4, B6,B7” that are shown in FIG. 3 of the above referenced patent applicationSer. No. 10/890,758 and/or the signal “142” shown in FIG. 1 of the abovereferenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057, and/or a desired signal plusinterference (that may be provided to an Inmarsat system location by anInmarsat satellite) may be delay-equalized to substantially align intime the interfering signal path(s) provided via the first (e.g., MSV)satellite relative to the interference signal path(s) provided via theInmarsat satellite. In some embodiments, the second (e.g., Inmarsat)satellite 302 may form spot beams (that may be receive-only spot beams)over ATC areas of the first (e.g., MSV) system and may thus provide tothe interference reducer 337 measures of the interfering signals. Insome embodiments, measures of the interfering signals are provided bythe first (e.g., MSV) satellite 301 and the second (e.g., Inmarsat)satellite 302. In other embodiments, a desired signal plus interferencethat may be provided to a system facility of the second (e.g., Inmarsat)system (such as satellite gateway 333), by the second (e.g., Inmarsat)satellite 302, may be transported to a system facility of the first(e.g., MSV) system (such as satellite gateway 323) and the interferencereducer 337 may be configured to be functionally operative at the MSVsystem facility to reduce interference of a signal that is intended forthe second (e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302.

In addition, or in alternatives, monitoring and control of down-linkinterference may be provided according to embodiments of the presentinvention. In accordance with system embodiments addressed earlier,utilizing L-band spectrum, portions of the down-link band frequencies ofan L-band (for example, from 1525 MHz to 1559 MHz) may be used by afirst communications system and a satellite (for example, satellite 301)thereof that may be operated by a first satellite operator (e.g., Mobilesatellite Ventures, LP “MSV”) to transmit information to at least onesatellite radioterminal (such as radioterminals 325 a-c). The portionsof the down-link band frequencies of the L-band (or a subset thereof)may also be used by at least one terrestrial infrastructure component(e.g., ATCs 321 a-c) that may be operated by and/or associated with thefirst communications (e.g., MSV) system and the satellite 301 thereof,to transmit information to at least one of the radioterminals 325 a-c. Aradioterminal of a second communications system (such as satelliteradioterminal 335 a of the second communications system includingsatellite 302, such as an Inmarsat system) may be operative whileproximate to a terrestrial infrastructure component (such as ATC 321 c)of the first communications system that is radiating at least somefrequencies of the portions of the down-link band frequencies of theL-band (or a subset thereof) to communicate with at least oneradioterminal (such as radioterminal 325 c). As such, the radioterminal335 a of the second communications system may experience interference,such as overload interference and/or inter-modulation interference.

In some embodiments, the radioterminal 335 a of the secondcommunications system may be operatively configured with signalingcapability, such as, for example, in-band signaling capability, toinform a system component, such as the satellite 302, satellite gateway333, and/or another component of the communications system, of a BitError Rate (BER) measure at the radioterminal 335 a. In response to theBER measure received by the second communications system, the secondcommunications system (e.g., the satellite 302 and/or the satellitegateway 333) may provide a different amount of power for transmissionsto the radioterminal 335 a (such as more power for transmission to theradioterminal 335 a if the BER measure is, for example, greater than afirst predetermined threshold, or less power to the radioterminal 335 aif the BER measure is, for example, smaller than a second predeterminedthreshold; where the first and second predetermined thresholds may bethe same or different) relative to the power delivered for transmissionto the radioterminal 335 a by the second communications system prior tothe reception by the second communications system of the BER measuretransmitted by the radioterminal 335 a via a signaling channel.

In other embodiments, in response to the BER measure received by thesecond communications system from the radioterminal 335 a, and followinga predetermined increase in power level for transmission to theradioterminal 335 a for the purpose of establishing a BER measure thatmay be within an acceptable range, the second communications system maycommand the radioterminal 335 a to utilize a different down-link(forward-link) carrier and/or channel, if the radioterminal 335 acontinues to report to the system a BER measure that is not within thepredetermined range and is inferior to the system's Quality of Service(QoS) standard for the service being provided by the radioterminal 335a. The different down-link (forward-link) carrier and/or channel may bechosen from an available pool of carriers and/or channels, and/or thedifferent down-link (forward-link) carrier and/or channel may be chosenat a maximum or near maximum frequency distance relative to a frequencyor frequencies used by at least one terrestrial infrastructure componentand/or radioterminal such as ATCs 321 a-c and/or radioterminals 325 a-c.

In yet other embodiments, in response to a BER measure received by thesatellite 302 from the radioterminal 335 a, the system may command theradioterminal 335 a to utilize a different down-link (forward-link)carrier and/or channel without first attempting to provide more powerfor transmission to the radioterminal 335 a. In some embodiments, thesecond communications system may process at least two BER measures(i.e., a sequence of BER measures) before sending more power fortransmissions to the radioterminal 335 a and/or commanding theradioterminal 335 a to utilize a different down-link (forward-link)carrier and/or channel. In some embodiments, one or more down-link(forward-link) signaling carriers/channels may be provided by the second(e.g., Inmarsat) satellite 302 at a frequency separation that ismaximally-distant, or near maximally-distant, from a down-link(forward-link) band of frequencies used by the ATCs 312 a-c of the firstcommunications (e.g., MSV) system.

In additional embodiments of the present invention, to further reducethe potential of down-link interference, two systems (for example, afirst communications system including satellite 301 and a secondcommunications system including satellite 302) that are using a band offrequencies, such as an L-band of frequencies, may partition the band offrequencies into relatively large and contiguous blocks of spectrum, asillustrated above in FIG. 2, and use the blocks of spectrum inaccordance with a minimum or substantially minimum interferencepotential criterion. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a first relatively largecontiguous block of down-link frequencies 201 (labeled “MSV ATC and/orSatellite Operations,” which may be, for example, approximately 10 MHzin bandwidth) may be used by MSV to offer satellite and ATC service(s)using satellite 301 and/or ATCs 321 a-c. Still referring to FIG. 2, asecond block of frequencies 203 (labeled “INMARSAT Operations”) may be,for example, approximately 17 MHz in bandwidth. The second block offrequencies 203 labeled “INMARSAT Operations” may be used by Inmarsat tooffer satellite services with, for example, a first sub-block offrequencies 203 a (that may be closest in frequency to the first blockof frequencies 201 used by MSV for satellite and/or ATC operations)allocated, for example, by Inmarsat to maritime and/or land-mobileoperations using satellite 302; followed by, for example, a secondsub-block of frequencies 203 b that may be allocated by Inmarsat toaeronautical operations using satellite 302; and followed by, forexample, a third sub-block of frequencies 203 c that may be allocated byInmarsat to land-mobile and/or aeronautical operations using satellite302. Following the INMARSAT Operations block (e.g., the second block offrequencies 203), as illustrated in FIG. 2, a third block of frequencies205 (labeled “MSV Satellite Operations,” which may be, for example,approximately 7 MHz in bandwidth) may be used by MSV for satelliteservices only using satellite 301. In some embodiments, at least aportion of the third block of frequencies 205 may also be used by MSVfor the provision of ATC/ATN communications.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment relating to L-bandspectrum usage by two system operators (as depicted in FIG. 2 anddescribed immediately above), at least some of the land-mobileoperations of the second (e.g., Inmarsat) system comprising land-mobileradioterminals (such as radioterminals 335 a-c) that may be mostsusceptible to down-link interference (i.e., overload and/orinter-modulation interference), comprising, for example, a class ofradioterminals configured for high-speed data mode(s) (such as Inmarsatradioterminals of type/class GAN, R-BGAN, and/or BGAN), may be allocateddown-link carrier frequencies in the third Inmarsat sub-block 203 cand/or at a maximum or near maximum frequency distance away from ATC/ATNoperations of the first (e.g., MSV) system using ATCs 321 a-c. At leastsome aeronautical operations of the second (e.g., Inmarsat) system mayalso be conducted over the third Inmarsat sub-block 203 c and/or at amaximum, or near maximum, frequency separation from ATC/ATN operationsof the first (e.g., MSV) system using ATCs 321 a-c. Owing to themobility aspects of some land-mobile radioterminals (and/or somenon-land-mobile radioterminals), at least some of the radioterminals 335a-c communicating with satellite 302 may be operative, fromtime-to-time, from locations proximate to base station/ATC emissions(such as emissions generated by one or more of ATCs 312 a-c) generatedby the communications system including satellite 301. The at least someradioterminals that may be operative proximate to such locations mayinclude at least one radioterminal that may be relatively moresusceptible to down-link interference than other radioterminals. (Aradioterminal providing a high-speed data service, for example, may bemore susceptible to down-link interference than a radioterminalproviding, for example, a voice service and/or low-speed data service.)The at least one radioterminal that may be relatively more susceptibleto down-link interference than the other radioterminals may be allocateda down-link carrier frequency in the third Inmarsat sub-block 203 cand/or at a maximum or near maximum frequency distance away from MSV'sATC operations using ATCs 321 a-c. This may be accomplished a priori bythe system, during a call set-up procedure between the radioterminal(such as one of the radioterminals 335 a-c) and the system (includingthe satellite 302), prior to establishing an initial communicationschannel, via recognition by the system of a radioterminalprofile/identity/service, or it may be accomplished a posteriori, afteran initial communications channel has been established and a measure ofunacceptable performance has been provided to the system (including thesatellite 302) by the radioterminal (such as one of the radioterminals335 a-c), as described earlier.

In further embodiments of the invention, an operator (e.g., Inmarsat) ofa system including the satellite 302 may deploy at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN in parts of, all, orsubstantially all of the geographic region 312 that an operator (e.g.,MSV) of a system including the satellite 301 plans to, and/or hasdeployed, at least one terrestrial infrastructure component, such as atleast one of ATCs 321 a-c. Having done so, the second communicationssystem operator (e.g., Inmarsat) may also configure at least some of theradioterminals (such as radioterminals 335 a-c) that are capable ofcommunicating with the satellite 302 of the second communications systemto also be capable of communicating with the at least one terrestrialinfrastructure component, ATC, and/or ATN of the second and/or firstcommunications system, and/or a terrestrial infrastructure of any othersystem. As such, a radioterminal 335 a of the second communicationssystem including satellite 302 (that may be operative proximate to atleast one terrestrial infrastructure component such as ATC 321 c of thefirst communications system, and may thus be subjected to down-linkinterference) may establish a communications link with the at least oneterrestrial infrastructure component (such as ATC 321 c) of the secondand/or first communications system, and/or the terrestrialinfrastructure of the any other system (instead of communicating via asatellite) to minimize, or eliminate the potential of down-link and/orup-link interference.

In other embodiments of the invention, in order to further reduce oreliminate the potential of down-link interference, two systems (such asfirst and second communications systems respectively including thesatellites 301 and 302) that may use a band of frequencies (such as anL-band of frequencies) may partition the band of frequencies intorelatively large and contiguous blocks of spectrum, as illustrated inFIG. 2. Moreover, at least some radioterminals (such as radioterminals335 a-c of the second communications system) may incorporate filtering(such as band-pass, low-pass, high-pass, notch and/or any other type offiltering) to substantially reduce further and/or eliminate potentialinterference.

As shown in FIG. 4, at least some radioterminals 335 configured tocommunicate with the satellite 302 of the second communications (e.g.,Inmarsat) system may, for example, be configured with a receiver filter401 that attenuates at least some frequencies of the “MSV ATC and/orSatellite Operations” frequency block 201 and/or at least somefrequencies of any other MSV frequency block, more than frequencies ofthe “INMARSAT Operations” block 203. More particularly, theradioterminal 335 may include a controller 407, a transmitter 411, areceiver 403, an antenna 415, and a user interface 409. In addition, thereceiver 403 may include a filter 401 and a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)405 with the filter 401 provided, in some embodiments, between theantenna 415 and the LNA 405. In applications requiring only reception,the transmitter 411 may be omitted. In radiotelephone applications, theuser interface 409 may include a microphone, a speaker, a display, and akeypad. In applications not providing voice communications, a microphoneand/or a speaker may be omitted from the user interface 409.

The filter 401 may be a front-end filter (operatively configured at aRadio Frequency (RF) section of the radioterminal receiver 403; beforeand/or after the receiver Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) 405), or the filter401 may be operatively distributed between RF, Intermediate Frequency(IF), and/or base-band sections of the radioterminal 335 receiver 403. Afilter characteristic, such as an attenuation response of the filter401, may be operationally responsive to a geographic location of theradioterminal 335 and/or a level of interference received at theradioterminal 335. For example, if the radioterminal 335 is operative inNorth America (or proximate to North America) the filter 401 attenuationresponse may be configured to attenuate at least some of the frequenciesoccupying the “MSV ATC and/or Satellite Operations” frequency block(e.g., block 201 of FIG. 2) and/or at least some of the frequencies ofany other MSV frequency block. If the radioterminal 335 is operativeoutside North America, the filter 401 may be switched out and/orby-passed, or may be altered in at least one characteristic. Thecontroller 407, for example, may determine a location of theradioterminal 335 responsive to information/signaling received from thesatellite 302 and/or responsive to information/signaling received from aGlobal Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and/or other radio positioningsystem. In combination with the above or in an alternative, thecontroller 407 may determine a location of the radioterminal 335responsive to information provided by a user through the user interface409. Accordingly, the controller 407 may switch-out and/or by-pass thefilter 401 when the radioterminal 335 is in a geographic area ofrelatively low expected interference so that the filter 401 is notcoupled between two or more elements of receiver 403 such as, forexample, the antenna 415 and the LNA 405. When the radioterminal 335 isin a geographic area of relatively high expected interference, thecontroller 407 may switch-in the filter 401 so that the filter 401 iscoupled between the antenna 415 and the LNA 405 and/or coupled betweentwo or more elements of the receiver 403 that may or may not include theantenna 415 and/or the LNA 405.

In some embodiments, at power-on of the radioterminal 335 theradioterminal 335 may be configured to function with the filter 401by-passed (or switched-out), totally or partially. After power-on of theradioterminal 335, the controller 407 may monitor a level of receivedinterference at the radioterminal 335. If the received level ofinterference at the radioterminal 335 exceeds a predetermined threshold,the controller 407 may switch-in the filter 401 so that the filter iscoupled between two or more elements of the receiver 403 such as, forexample, between the antenna 415 and the LNA 405, as illustrated in FIG.4. If the received interference is less than the predeterminedthreshold, the controller 407 may switch-out and/or by-pass the filter401 so that the filter 401 is not coupled between any two or moreelements of the receiver 403. Monitoring the level of receivedinterference at the radioterminal 335 may comprise detecting and/orestimating (at the radioterminal and/or elsewhere) a power levelreceived at the radioterminal 335 over a frequency interval (sub-band)that is used by MSV to provide ATC/ATN communications.

In other embodiments, radioterminals (such as one or more ofradioterminals 325 a-c) of the first communications (e.g., MSV) systemof FIG. 3 may also be configured with a band-pass, low-pass, high-pass,notch and/or any other type of receiver-chain filter characteristic thatattenuates frequencies that lie outside of one or more MSV frequencyblocks.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed embodimentsof the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

1. A method of operating a second communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area wherein a firstcommunications system provides communications service over at least aportion of the geographic area, the method comprising: generating ameasure of aggregate interference reaching a satellite of the secondcommunications system substantially from devices of the firstcommunications system based on signals received at the satellite of thesecond communications system; and transmitting the measure of aggregateinterference reaching the satellite of the second communications systemto an element of the first communications system.
 2. A method accordingto claim 1 wherein the first communications system and the secondcommunications system are operated by different entities.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the first communications system and thesecond communications system are operated by a same entity.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the first and/or the second communicationssystem comprises at least one satellite and/or at least one terrestrialcomponent, the at least one terrestrial component and/or the at leastone satellite being configured to communicate with at least oneradioterminal.
 5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the firstcommunications system comprises at least one satellite and/or at leastone terrestrial component, the first communications system furthercomprising at least one radioterminal configured to communicate with theat least one satellite and/or with the at least one terrestrialcomponent.
 6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the firstcommunications system and the second communications system are bothconfigured for communications using L band and/or S band frequencies. 7.A method according to claim 1 wherein a portion of the aggregateinterference reaching the satellite of the second communications systemcomprises transmissions between a radioterminal and at least one of aterrestrial component and/or a satellite of the first communicationssystem.
 8. A method according to claim 1 further comprising: receivingthe measure of aggregate interference at the first communicationssystem; and altering a transmission of an element of the firstcommunications system responsive to the measure of aggregateinterference.
 9. A method of operating a first communications systemproviding communications service over a geographic area wherein a secondcommunications system provides communications service over at least aportion of the geographic area, the method comprising: receiving ameasure of an aggregate interference reaching a satellite of the secondcommunications system at the first communications system, wherein themeasure of aggregate interference is based on signals received at thesatellite of the second communications system; and altering atransmission of an element of the first communications system responsiveto receiving the measure of the aggregate interference reaching thesatellite of the second communications system.
 10. A method according toclaim 9 wherein altering a transmission of an element of the firstcommunications system comprises altering a transmission power of theelement of the first communications system.
 11. A method according toclaim 9 wherein altering a transmission of an element of the firstcommunications system comprise altering a frequency of transmission ofthe element of the first communications system.
 12. A method accordingto claim 9 wherein the first communications system and the secondcommunications system are operated by different entities.
 13. A methodaccording to claim 9 wherein the first communications system and thesecond communications system are operated by a same entity.
 14. A methodaccording to claim 9 wherein the first and/or the second communicationssystem comprises at least one satellite and/or at least one terrestrialcomponent, the at least one terrestrial component and/or the at leastone satellite being configured to communicate with a radioterminal. 15.A method according to claim 9 wherein the first communications systemcomprises at least one satellite and/or at least one terrestrialcomponent, the at least one satellite and/or the at least oneterrestrial component being configured to communicate with at least oneradioterminal.
 16. A method according to claim 9 wherein the firstcommunications system and the second communications system are bothconfigured for communications using L band and/or S band frequencies.17. A method according to claim 9 wherein a portion of the aggregateinterference reaching the satellite of the second communications systemcomprises transmissions between a radioterminal and at least one of aterrestrial component and/or a satellite of the first communicationssystem.
 18. A method according to claim 9 further comprising: beforereceiving the measure of aggregate interference, generating the measureof aggregate interference reaching the satellite of the secondcommunications system; and before receiving the measure of the aggregateinterference, transmitting the measure of aggregate interference fromthe second communications system to the first communications system. 19.A method of operating a first communications system providingcommunications service over a geographic area wherein a secondcommunications system provides communications service over at least aportion of the geographic area, the method comprising: receiving at thefirst communications system from the second communications system ameasure of interfering signals to the second communications systemsubstantially generated by transmissions of the first communicationssystem; and reducing an interference received at a satellite of thesecond communications system responsive to the measure of interferingsignals received from the second communications system.
 20. A methodaccording to claim 19 wherein the first communications system and thesecond communications system are operated by different entities.
 21. Amethod according to claim 19 wherein the first communications system andthe second communications system are operated by a same entity.
 22. Amethod according to claim 19 wherein the first communications systemand/or the second communications system comprises at least one satelliteand/or at least one terrestrial component, the at least one terrestrialcomponent and/or the at least one satellite being configured tocommunicate with at least one radioterminal.
 23. A method according toclaim 19 wherein the first communications system comprises at least onesatellite and/or at least one terrestrial component, the at least onesatellite and/or the at least one terrestrial component being configuredto communicate with at least one radioterminal.
 24. A method accordingto claim 19 wherein the first communications system and the secondcommunications system are both configured for communications using Lband and/or S band frequencies.
 25. A method according to claim 19wherein a portion of the interfering signals reaching the satellite ofthe second communications system comprises transmissions between aradioterminal and at least one of a terrestrial component and/or atleast one satellite of the first communications system.
 26. A methodaccording to claim 19 wherein reducing an interference componentreceived at the satellite of the second communications system comprisesaltering a transmission from an element of the first communicationssystem responsive to receiving the measure of interfering signals at thefirst communications system to reduce interference from the element ofthe first communications system received at the satellite of the secondcommunications system.
 27. A method of operating at least onecommunications system providing communications service over a geographicarea, the method comprising: generating a measure of aggregateinterference reaching a satellite of a second communications systemsubstantially from devices of a first communications system wherein themeasure of aggregate interference is based on signals received at thesatellite of the second communications system; and reducing interferencereceived at a satellite of the second communications system responsiveto the measure of aggregate interference reaching the satellite of thesecond communications system substantially from devices of the firstcommunications system by altering a transmission from at least one ofthe devices of the first communications system responsive to the measureof aggregate interference reaching the satellite of the secondcommunications system.
 28. A method according to claim 27 wherein thefirst communications system and the second communications system areoperated by different entities.
 29. A method according to claim 27wherein the first communications system and the second communicationssystem are operated by a same entity.
 30. A method according to claim 27wherein the first and/or the second communications system comprises atleast one satellite and/or at least one terrestrial component, the atleast one terrestrial component and/or the at least one satellite beingconfigured to communicate with at least one radioterminal.
 31. A methodaccording to claim 27 wherein the first communications system comprisesat least one satellite and/or at least one terrestrial component, the atleast one satellite and/or the at least one terrestrial component beingconfigured to communicate with at least one radioterminal.
 32. A methodaccording to claim 27 wherein the first communications system and thesecond communications system are both configured for communicationsusing L band and/or S band frequencies.
 33. A method according to claim27 wherein a portion of the aggregate interference reaching thesatellite of the second communications system comprises transmissionsbetween a radioterminal and at least one of a terrestrial componentand/or a satellite of the first communications system.
 34. A methodaccording to claim 27 wherein generating the measure of aggregateinterference comprises generating the measure of aggregate interferenceat the first communications system, and receiving the measure ofaggregate interference at the second communications system from thefirst communications system.
 35. A method according to claim 27 whereingenerating the measure of aggregate interference comprises receiving atleast portions of transmissions between at least two elements of thefirst communications system at the second communications system, andgenerating the measure of aggregate interference responsive to the atleast portions of transmissions between the at least two elements of thefirst communications system received at the second communicationssystem.
 36. A communications system providing communications serviceover a geographic area, the communications system comprising: asatellite configured to provide a communications link with at least oneradioterminal in the geographic area; and a controller configured togenerate a measure of aggregate interference reaching the satellite ofthe communications system substantially from devices of anothercommunications system based on signals received at the satellite of thecommunications system, and to transmit the measure of aggregateinterference reaching the satellite of the communications system to anelement of the other communications system.
 37. A communications systemproviding communications service over a geographic area, thecommunications system comprising: at least one satellite and/or at leastone terrestrial component configured to provide a communications linkwith at least one radioterminal in the geographic region; and acontroller coupled to the at least one satellite, the at least oneradioterminal and/or the at least one terrestrial component, thecontroller being configured to receive a measure of an aggregateinterference reaching a satellite of another communications system,wherein the measure of aggregate interference is based on signalsreceived at the satellite of the other communications system, and toalter a transmission from the at least one satellite, the at least oneradioterminal and/or the at least one terrestrial component responsiveto receiving the measure of the aggregate interference reaching thesatellite of the other communications system.
 38. A communicationssystem providing communications service over a geographic region, thecommunications system comprising: at least one satellite and/or at leastone terrestrial component configured to provide a communications linkwith at least one radioterminal in the geographic region; and acontroller coupled to the at least one satellite, the at least oneradioterminal and/or the at least one terrestrial component, thecontroller being configured to receive a measure of interfering signalsto another communications system substantially generated bytransmissions from/to the at least one satellite, the at least oneradioterminal and/or the at least one terrestrial component, and toreduce interference received at a satellite of the other communicationssystem responsive to the measure of interfering signals.
 39. Acommunications system providing communications service over a geographicarea, the communications system comprising: a satellite configured toprovide a communications link with at least one radioterminal in thegeographic region; and a controller coupled to the at least onesatellite, the controller being configured to generate a measure ofaggregate interference reaching the satellite of the communicationssystem substantially from devices of another communications systemwherein the measure of aggregate interference is based on signalsreceived at the satellite of the communications system, and to reduceinterference received at the satellite of the communications systemresponsive to the measure of aggregate interference reaching thesatellite of the communications system substantially from devices of theother communications system by altering a transmission from at least oneof the devices of the other communications system responsive to themeasure of aggregate interference reaching the satellite of thecommunications system.
 40. A communications system according to claim 38wherein the controller is configured to reduce interference received atthe satellite of the other communications system by altering atransmission from/to the at least one satellite, the at least oneradioterminal and/or the at least one terrestrial component responsiveto receiving the measure of interfering signals at the firstcommunications system to reduce interference from the at least onesatellite, the at least one radioterminal and/or the at least oneterrestrial component received at the satellite of the othercommunications system.